Are Superbits worth it?
 

I'm wondering with this Best Buy sale of buy 2 get one free, what's the big deal with the Superbit line? I don't own any, and I was wondering if people could give me insight as to the advantages or disadvantages of buying Superbit over the regular specials-loaded versions.

Only if you have really high end equipment to handle it. They do have a slightly better bitrate but you most likely will not notice the difference. Save you money.

Do a search for your answer. It has been discussed to death on here.

Short answer is: For some, Superbits are worth it. For most, NO.

The advantage is that all the DVD space is devoted to audio / video quality.

Superbits are worth it to me. But here's why - there is a definite increase in the quality of picture and sound, but often, it's not that much. But you can tell a difference either way. The addtion of DTS always helps as well. You don't need high end equipment to tell the difference, but a digital TV certainly helps.

In addition, I rarely watch an extra more than once, if at all, so to me, I'd rather have the best version of the MOVIE there is, and more often than not, it's the SB.

I wish that last part were true, but many SBs (if not all) do leave significant room on the disc.

1. Better Quality Picture (If you have a better than average TV or plan to buy one like hdtv)

2. Better Sound (DTS) (If you have a Home Theater System or planing to buy one)


I don't have the TV yet but do have the home theater system and the DTS sounds great. I wish all the movies had DTS but that's not the case and this is the reason why everyone goes crazy over superbit. There are a few good movies with DTS and in the end are worth getting.

:thumbsup:

I have a 61in DLP tv and pioneer receiver with DTS capability.

I can definately tell a slight difference in picture and sound.

I can tell that the Superbit picture quality is improved on a standard tv. However, I would not want to lose the commentaries/extras on a few titles like Desperado or Snatch. Also, a few of the recent releases (Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Bad Boys II, and Underworld) already had great picture and sound. Columbia Tri-Star/Sony proved they could include commentaries with the Superbit line on the Spider-Man release, so I see no reason why they just don't release a Superbit Deluxe edition as the first and only release (disc 1 movie with commentary and disk 2 extras).

Some Superbits are really special - Spider-Man, Starship Troopers, Fifth Element, Black Hawk Down. And some are just unnecessary - Bad Boys 2, Underworld, OUATIM, etc. Especially in the case of Bad Boys 2, the original 2 disc had the movie on one with nothing else but some trailers and the second disc had the behind the scenes stuff. I see no reason why they couldn't just include a DTS track on the first disc and leave it alone, that right there is just stupid and greedy.

Some have a noticeable difference... Fifth Element, Desperado, Air Force One & Bad Boys look incredible. Far superior to their counterpart releases. But there are some bad apples among them as well...and some are unneccesary like already mentioned in Josh's post.

I think that most Superbits use the same transfer as the non-Superbit edition, but with a higher bitrate. What I mean is that they go back to the uncompressed master and compress it using a higher bitrate. So, there could be an improvement in the form of fewer compression artifacts, but that's basically it.

A notable exception is Lawrence of Arabia. In this case, Robert A. Harris, who restored the film in the 80's but was not asked to be involved in the original DVD release, worked on the Superbit. He was able to alter the colors and do tweaks on it, so it is definitely an improvement.

For me it's worth it, but I also have almost $10,000 invested in my audio/visual gear. I also rarely watch extra's.

If they came out with 2 disc super bits, however, I'd buy them for sure. I'm not sure why they don't. They could have one SB disc and one disc of extras. It would cost a bit more, obviously, but I'd buy them.



Stew

They're called "Superbit Deluxe." The Patriot and Snatch are available in this format. I don't really think it's caught on though.

When searching for the titles, I found this image. I assume this was cancelled, or maybe it was just a joke. Check this bad boy out:

http://dvdmedia.ign.com/dvd/image/gl...luxe_boxlg.jpg

Oh, the humanity!

I purchased my first Superbit recently, Bram Stoker's Dracula. The quality of the transfer of the SB really was astounding in comparison to the old transfer at least on a large screen. As a fan of extras like commentaries, it may be necessary for me to double dip on titles I really care about if I wish to have a superbit picture. Sad but true. Sigh.

If they offered more super deluxe superbits then I'd buy them. For a single disk with no extra's, they're pretty pricey.

Depends on the title, and you have to almost buy the damn thing to find out just how many "extra bits" were used. For example, some movies are just around 4.6GB (I think Panic Room was one of them), which is hardly a "SuperBit" movie. Usually, the movie should be around 7GB or more.

The problem I have with Superbits is that other studios are managing to give consumers the same quality (including DTS), plus extras, by releasing regular two-disc sets at a regular price without giving the discs a special label other than SE or CE.

There is usually enough space left over on a Superbit to accomodate a Dolby 2.0 commentary track in addition to DTS, without compromising video quality. I believe is was the "Panic Room" Superbit that was shown to have more than a gigabyte of unused space, with Sony still repeating the mantra that Superbits use all the space for video and audio.

And has been posted above, most Superbits do not sport different transfers. They are the same transfers with slightly less compression. Exceptions to this rule are Superbit re-releases of titles that had been originally released in the early days of DVD and deserved a new transfer regardless.

If I remember correctly, Panic Room and Adaptation weren't originally intended as SuperBits but were latered marketed as such when they didn't have any features announced. They simply added in the DTS track.

Definatley only select titles you'll be able to notice a difference in picture, sound however isn't true dts just remixed crap going back so i wouldn't neccessarily say the dts track is that much of an improvement, the guns of navarone for example suffers from a damaged print making the picture itself look very grainy, unnatural looking at that, lawrence of arabia for example i could tell a difference in that against the original but not too much. If you can get them for the same as the cheaper version then by all means it's worth it but not too much, also having 27 inch tv doesn't really matter what version of the movie you have (not saying anybody has specifically but just as example if you do)

Oddly enough this is the exact same case with me. I came across this title on SB a few weeks ago and the picture is superb. While I have a sometimes interest in commentaries, depending on who is doing them, for me it's the movie first and foremost and the goodies are secondary. This looks wonderful on both my 27 inch and my 57 inch screens so if you have alot invested in your equipment it is a very good choice. If not, I wouldn't pay more for it as opposed to say an SE of the same movie.

So I guess it really boils down to equipment, how sensitive you are to DVDs flaws, and extras. It seems then what it boils down to, like so many have said, is hit or miss. I just always assumed these were considered "better" all around. I appreciate all the input! :)

I personally check the reviews section on certain Superbits and try and decide if the SB is that much better. I am mostly interested in better audio since my surround is much better (and newer) than my RPTV. I am also thinking down the road when I upgrade to a newer TV or maybe projector.

That is exactly what I do when it comes to upgrading. I try and check at least 3 reviews of the Superbit. If the differences are minimal than I stick with what I have. A few that I passed on that (from reviewers) only seemed marginally better to a trained eye and professionally calibrated system. So if they can barely tell the difference, what makes me think I could? A few that fell into this category: Mask of Zorro, the Patriot, & Leon.

In my book, no. I'm not an audiovideo phile and superbits are always more expensive than the regular version, thus it makes no sense for me to buy them.

No

That's good to hear that you're praising the SB edition of Starship Troopers - it's the defenitive incentive for me to get this now.

I also noted that the difference between the SB Dracula and the nonSB were quite noticeable.

Also the DTS track on the Charlie's Angels SB is also dramatic and has more oomph than the Dolby Digital non-SB edition.

Some interesting comparison screen caps of the new Spider-Man 2 SE vs. Spider-Man 2 Superbit are linked in this HTF post.

i have a 9ft. diagonal 16x9 screen. superbit titles always look superior, more detailed. unfortunately, very very few titles that im interested in are available as such.

Cygnet, check out the new DareDevil DC, the picture quality destroys damn near every Superbit released!

The DTS track alone is worth the purchase!

I have a 70" screen, and am planning on eventually making a 100" screen. Until now, I had no real want of a superbit DVD. But considering how big the screen is, I will have to check one out.

Any title you would recommend that showcases just how good a DVD picture quality can be?

Fifth Element is the Best Superbit

Most of the time the only reason I buy superbits is for the DTS track, which is usually better than the dd5.1 track.

I'm not sure I agree there. Starship Troopers is better to my eyes and ears. I have a few SB's myself, but I don't fall for them all. I'm a total DTS WHORE as well. Since I moved from a Pioneer 58" CRT to a 70" XBR, the PQ differences have become more startling.
Fifth Element - DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT over the original.
Dracula - Same as above.
Crouching Tiger - Really wanted the DTS.
Starship Troopers - They took a good DVD and made it absolute reference.
Snatch - Wanted the DTS because the soundtrack is so awesome.
Lawrence of Arabia - Totally new FIXED transfer, DTS is icing.
Resident Evil - Ehh, not such an improvement over the original.
Spiderman 2 - I'm getting ready to watch it tonight. From what I've read, it kicks @$$ on the SE.

superbits are a joke.

are they generally better than the previous non-superbit release?
yes.
are they vastly better than any other studios higher efforts?
F#ck no!

they purposefully degrade (filter out the higher frequencies/finer detail) from the regular edition, waste disc space, and use a lower than necc. bit rate and go and rectify some of these for the SB .
its the equivilent of a store going thru its inventory at midnight and marking everything up before the big 30% off sale the next day.

I don't know if it beats every Superbit but I did compare it to my new copies of the Spider-ma 1 & 2 Superbits & I immediately felt the DareDevil DC dvd was head and shoulders better than the Spider-man discs. I have a 65inch HD & the difference was obvious!

I was disappointed in the Superbits to say the least.

I agree completely that just because it says Superbit doesn't mean it looks or sounds better than other studios efforts. IMO, Seabiscuit is better looking than anything I've ever seen on Film. As for video based, probably Spy Kids 2 or Episode 2. There are loads of releases that eclipse any Superbit. The thing that Superbits do is better the PREVIOUS release. When it comes to newer releases, it pisses me off. I almost feel like they are crippling the SE's to justify (sell) the Superbit. The older re-releases I have no problem with.

I agree with ckolchak. Of course Dracula is going to look better - the original Dracula was an early DVD. The point is that Sony should be giving you the best presentation on the first DVD..but people are happy to lick whatever scraps Sony gives you. With current releases, when they release 2 version at the same time, its just like selliing a knowingly inferior version.

I have both the Fifth Element and Starship Troopers SBs and I was more impressed with the Fifth Element. I was also more impressed with Black Hawk Down. Starship Troopers is a damn good SB though.

I think that's a bit of an oversimplification. If the methodology of Superbits hold true as far as using the entire, or most of the disc's space for audio and video, (which isn't always the case) it also means that certain features could never be included, like audio commentaries. In that case, you get a trade off between features and presentation, and different people will value those differently and it would be hard pressed to call one inferior over the other.